Abel to Yzerman

We’re going to be hearing about this story today, and most likely all week. It’s not new to you, but our dirty little secret is out there now. Wing tickets, even playoff tickets, are not exactly difficult to come by.

As a matter of fact, they’re embarrassingly available.Behind The Jersey mentioned it a week ago, and the Detroit News caught up last night.

Long, long, long frigging week. In case you’d forgotten, here are a few items to worry about: Zetterberg’s health, Bertuzzi’s health, Mike Babcock’s ability to adapt and the true terror of another early loss. A few items for you to consider as Stress-Ex 2007 grows nearer.

First: the deep diggers are busy, but not exactly unified. Everyone was at the media avail today, but they all seem to come away with different interpretations

I’ve added Bruce MacLeod’s blog, Red Wing Corner, to the port side under “Head to Hockeytown.” MacLeod, who writes for the Macomb Daily, is a goldmine as far as Deep Diggers are concerned. Today, he brings good and bad news.

Everyone—including Henrik Zetterberg (back)—was on the ice for Monday’s practice at Joe Louis Arena except for Todd Bertuzzi. The forward was diagnosed with a concussion after colliding with goalie Chris Osgood last Thursday. His status for Thursday’s playoff opener has yet to be determined.

I’m not going to come down too hard on the mainstreamers on this one. Heck, if I even attempted to be objective—which, you know, I have no intention of experimenting with—I’d be tempted too. The Wing injury situation, recent playoff history, Hasek’s brittle body and even more brittle psyche?

I’ve never seen a 1 seed considered an underdog, but by the time Thursday night rolls around it’s going to seem that way. We start, however, with at least one for the good guys.

Your Wing bloggers are, as always, in the section titled, “Head to Hockeytown.” And while their counterparts in Calgary have been asleep at the switch, clearly very satisfied at just getting in, the Wing blogs are ramping it up.

...Calgary. Not real sure why the Easter Bunny has never gotten the pub Santa has. Kind of a JV holiday icon if you ask me. And I’ll tell you this, with presents like that, he’s not exactly skyrocketing in my book.

Whatever happened to the days of first-round opponents like Phoenix, St. Louis or Anaheim back when “mighty” meant less than that?

Update 1315: Bertuzzi not in the lineup. Mike Babcock said baseline tests after collision were “ok, but not great.” Like Zetterberg, he’ll play Game 1.

Ken Holland, on today’s FSN pre-game, said Hank Zetterberg may not be 100 percent; but he’ll be in there for Game 1.

Against who (whom)? Tonite Calgary plays their friends from Edmonton while Bubba visits the Dive. Hopefully, the Oil return the favor and Bubba continues their choke job, setting up an 8-spot matchup tomorrow in Denver.

It wasn’t his most famous achievement as a Wing. All his teeth were in and Jon Casey wasn’t involved. It didn’t precede a failed Statue of Liberty and this time his accomplishment was painless.

In other words, Steve Yzerman earned his money as a hockey exec yesterday. Was his influence as significant as the mainstreamers are claiming regarding keeping Datsyuk in the fold? Probably not. But when the Wings needed a credible voice to convince us that this deal is a good one, they trotted out The Captain. And he scored again.

One more Datsukian thought before I head to The State That Can't Win The Central for a long weekend. Khan(!) makes a comment halfway through his blog post regarding the signing that I must have glossed over earlier.

I don't buy the notion that by not signing him you make him more motivated for the playoffs. He's an extremely motivated player and his lack of playoff success has nothing to do with his desire.

I, and I think I can speak for you, have never thought for a second that Datsyuk's playoff disappointments have been due to a lack of motivation. I have no doubt the kid's plenty motivated to succeed.
The question is not whether he wants to, but whether he's got the mental makeup to get it done. It's not effort, it's attitude and it's responding under pressure. And there, my friends, lies the rub. Does Datsyuk have what it takes to thrive under the playoff spotlight?
It's not motivation, Ansar. None of us are saying that. It's sack and whether 7 million per year buys you some or not.

About Abel to Yzerman

Welcome to Abel to Yzerman, a Red Wing blog since 1977. No other site on the internet has better-researched, fact-laden and better prepared discussions than A2Y. Re-phrase: we do little research, find facts and stats highly overrated and claim little to no preparation. There are 19 readers of A2Y. No more, no less. All of them, except maybe one, are juvenile in nature. Reminding them of that in the comment section will only encourage them to prove that. Your suggestions and critiques are welcome: wphoulihan@gmail.com